Assign Conversations to Team Members

Learn how to assign inbox conversations to specific team members, use @mentions for collaboration, and manage assignments.

Written by Noah BrooksUpdated 3 days ago10 min readBeginner

What this guide covers

This guide explains how to assign conversations in the JobsiteOn inbox to specific team members. You will learn how assignment creates ownership, how to assign from both the inbox list and the conversation detail view, how to use @mentions to collaborate, and how assignment notifications work.

By the end of this guide you will know how to:

Understand why assignment matters for your team workflow
Assign a conversation from the inbox list view
Assign a conversation from the conversation detail view
Reassign conversations between team members
Use @mentions to request help without changing assignment
Understand how assignment notifications are delivered

Before you begin

Make sure you have these prerequisites:

Two or more team members with inbox access in your workspace. Assignment only makes sense when there is more than one person to distribute work to.
At least one active conversation in your inbox. See Compose and Send Your First Email or wait for a customer to email you.
Team member roles configured so that each person's access level is appropriate. Check your team settings if you are unsure.

Note: All team members with inbox access can see all conversations regardless of assignment. Assignment is about ownership and prioritization, not about restricting visibility.

Why assignment matters

Without assignment, your inbox is an unorganized queue where anyone might respond to anything. This leads to problems:

Two team members reply to the same customer, creating confusion
Conversations sit unanswered because everyone assumes someone else will handle it
There is no clear accountability for response times

Assignment solves these problems by creating a clear owner for each conversation. When a conversation is assigned to you, it appears in your "Assigned to me" filter, making it easy to see exactly what you are responsible for.

How assignment works

Every conversation can have zero or one assignee at a time
The assignee is the team member responsible for the next action on that conversation
Assignment does not lock the conversation -- other team members can still view and reply
Changing the assignee notifies the new assignee so they know to take action
Assignment history is tracked in the conversation timeline

Assigning from the inbox list

The quickest way to assign multiple conversations is from the inbox list view.

Step 1 -- Locate the conversation

Scroll through your inbox list or use search and filters to find the conversation you want to assign. See Search and Filter Conversations for advanced filtering.

Step 2 -- Open the assignment control

Hover over the conversation in the list. An assignee avatar or assignment icon appears on the conversation row. Click it to open the assignment dropdown.

Step 3 -- Select a team member

The dropdown shows a list of all team members with inbox access. Each entry shows:

The team member's name
Their avatar or initials
Their current assignment count (how many conversations are already assigned to them)

Click a team member's name to assign the conversation to them.

Step 4 -- Confirm the assignment

The conversation row immediately updates to show the new assignee's avatar. The assignee receives a notification about the new assignment.

Tip: When distributing work across your team, glance at each person's assignment count in the dropdown. This helps you balance the workload evenly rather than overloading one team member.

Assigning from the conversation detail view

When you are already reading a conversation and want to assign it, you can do so without going back to the list view.

Step 1 -- Open the conversation

Click a conversation in the inbox list to open its detail panel.

Step 2 -- Find the assignment control

The assignment control is located in the conversation header area, typically near the top of the detail panel alongside other conversation metadata like status and contact information.

The control shows either:

The current assignee's name and avatar
An "Unassigned" label if no one is assigned

Step 3 -- Click to assign or reassign

Click the assignment control to open the team member dropdown. Select the person you want to assign the conversation to.

If the conversation is already assigned to someone, selecting a different person reassigns it. The previous assignee is notified that the conversation has been reassigned, and the new assignee is notified that they have been assigned.

Step 4 -- Add context with a note

After assigning, consider leaving an internal note explaining why you are handing off the conversation or what action the new assignee should take.

For example:

@Jennifer -- This customer is asking about our commercial pricing.
You handled their last project so you have the context. Can you
follow up with a quote by end of day?

This gives the assignee everything they need to take action without having to read the entire thread.

Tip: Always leave an internal note when reassigning a conversation, especially if the conversation is long. A quick summary of what the customer needs and what has been done so far saves the new assignee significant time.

Assigning a conversation to yourself

If you see an unassigned conversation that you want to handle, you can assign it to yourself.

Open the assignment dropdown (from either the list or detail view)
Find your own name in the team member list
Click your name to self-assign

Some teams use a "pull" model where each team member checks the unassigned queue and self-assigns conversations they can handle. This works well when team members have different areas of expertise.

Unassigning a conversation

To remove the current assignee without assigning someone new:

Open the assignment dropdown
Click the Unassign option (or click the currently selected assignee to toggle them off)

The conversation returns to the unassigned pool where any team member can pick it up.

Note: Unassigning a conversation does not notify anyone. If you are removing yourself because you cannot handle it, leave an internal note explaining why so other team members know to pick it up.

Using @mentions for collaboration

Sometimes you need input from a colleague without transferring ownership of the conversation. This is where @mentions come in.

How @mentions work

In any internal note, type @ followed by the team member's name. As you type, a suggestion list appears. Select the person you want to mention.

When you save the note, the mentioned team member receives a notification that draws their attention to the conversation. They can then open the conversation, read your note, and add their own note or reply.

@Mentions vs. assignment

	Assignment	@Mention
Changes ownership	Yes	No
Notifies the person	Yes	Yes
Moves conversation to their queue	Yes	No
Best for	Handing off responsibility	Asking for input

Use assignment when someone else should take over. Use @mentions when you want to keep ownership but need help or a second opinion.

Example @mention use cases

Technical question: "@Mike, the customer is asking about load-bearing capacity for a 20-foot span. Can you confirm our specs?"
Pricing approval: "@Sarah, this customer wants a 15% discount on a $5,000 job. Do we approve?"
Escalation notice: "@David, heads up -- this customer has been waiting 3 days for a response and is getting frustrated."

Assignment notifications

When a conversation is assigned to a team member, they receive a notification through the following channels:

In-app notification

A notification badge appears on the inbox icon in the sidebar. Opening the inbox shows the newly assigned conversation highlighted or flagged.

The assigned to me filter

Team members can filter their inbox to show only conversations assigned to them. This creates a personal to-do list of conversations that need their attention.

When a new assignment comes in, it immediately appears in this filtered view.

Tip: Start each day by checking your "Assigned to me" filter. This gives you an immediate view of all conversations waiting for your action, helping you prioritize your morning workflow.

Bulk assignment

If you need to assign multiple conversations at once (for example, when redistributing work or when a team member goes on vacation):

Select multiple conversations from the inbox list using the checkbox controls
Use the bulk action bar that appears at the top of the list
Click the Assign action in the bulk bar
Select the team member to assign all selected conversations to

All selected conversations are assigned in one action, and the assignee receives a single notification summarizing the bulk assignment.

Troubleshooting

I assigned a conversation but the team member says they do not see it

Check the following:

Verify the team member has inbox access enabled in their account settings
Confirm you selected the correct person in the assignment dropdown
Ask the team member to check their "Assigned to me" filter rather than viewing all conversations
Ensure the conversation is not filtered out by a status filter (for example, if they are only viewing Open conversations and the assigned conversation is Closed)

Assignment notifications are not working

If team members report not receiving assignment notifications:

Check that notifications are enabled in their personal settings
Verify their browser allows notifications from JobsiteOn (if using browser notifications)
Ensure they are not viewing a filtered inbox that hides the assigned conversation

I cannot assign conversations -- the option is missing

This may be a permissions issue. Assignment controls are available to team members with the appropriate role. Contact your workspace administrator to verify your role permissions include conversation assignment.

FAQ

Can I assign a conversation to multiple people?

No. Each conversation can have only one assignee at a time. If multiple people need to be involved, assign it to the primary responsible person and use @mentions to loop in others.

Does assignment affect who the customer sees as the sender?

No. Regardless of who is assigned to the conversation, all outbound replies come from your configured company email address. The customer does not see individual team member names or email addresses.

What happens to assigned conversations when a team member leaves?

When a team member is removed from the workspace, their assigned conversations become unassigned. A workspace administrator should reassign these conversations to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. The full conversation history remains intact.

Can I see a history of who was assigned to a conversation?

Yes. The conversation timeline tracks assignment changes. You can scroll through the timeline to see when the conversation was assigned, reassigned, or unassigned, and which team members were involved at each step.

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